


Caretaker

by lionessvalenti



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 04, Body Horror, Do Not Archive, Forehead Kisses, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mpreg, Uncertainty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-26 17:52:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17750651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: Six months in a coma and Jon woke up pregnant with something. Now Martin has been tasked as his caretaker.





	Caretaker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Snickfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snickfic/gifts).



It's not as if Martin had volunteered to be Jon's caretaker, but no one else did. Perhaps they had all looked to him because _obviously_ it would be Martin. As embarrassing as it was, everyone knew about his feelings toward Jon, and he had experience in this sort of thing. Well, no one actually had experience in _this_.

"Are you feeling up for breakfast this morning?" Martin asked. He'd already cooked it, a little fry up with sausage and eggs and toast, but most mornings, Jon didn't have much of an appetite. Martin couldn't blame him, but he always cooked something just in case. If Jon didn't eat it, Martin would and not let it go to waste.

When there was no response, Martin stepped out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a tea towel. Jon was sitting on the sofa, in a wooly jumper and sleep pants. His hair was a mess, clearly unbothered enough by Martin's presence in his home that he hadn't even combed it.

Martin tried not to take it personally.

"Jon?" he tried again.

This time, Jon turned to look at him. "Martin, sorry. What did you say?"

"Breakfast?"

"Oh. No. Thank you."

Martin swallowed. "You need to eat."

Jon didn't reply. He rested a hand on his stomach, and if Martin wasn't so completely certain of the opposite, he would have thought the motion was fond.

He'd spent six months in a coma only to wake up pregnant with... something. The most they knew is that it wasn't human, and that didn't exactly narrow it down. Among the the things they did know was that any time they tried to get an ultrasound, the equipment malfunctioned and the screen went fuzzy. No one had the chance to see even see it.

The implications of how this came about were atrocious, and it made Martin queasy just to think about it. There was no telling how Jon felt about it. The larger his stomach grew the more withdrawn he became. He only seemed a bit more like himself after reading a statement.

Jon shifted and a thin white strip of skin peeked out from beneath his charcoal colored jumper, the bottom hem stretched to its extreme across the enormous swell of his stomach. He shifted again, adjusting the pillow behind his back, exposing more skin as the jumper rode up an inch.

Martin couldn't take his eyes off it, that little bit of pale flesh. He swallowed hard and tried to steady his breathing. Despite being in Jon's home, this was technically work, and he needed to be a professional. Whatever that meant anymore.

"You all right?" Martin asked as Jon still couldn't seem to get comfortable.

Jon looked at him with a grimace. "It's moving. I can feel it... squirm."

"Right. That's..." Probably shouldn't say words like _horrifying_ or _nightmarish_ aloud in situations like these. "It shouldn't be much longer now, don't you think?"

"Who knows how long monsters gestate," Jon snapped. He brought a hand to his forehead and sighed. "I'm sorry, Martin. I know... I know you're trying to help. I haven't been a very good patient."

Martin moved further into the room until he was only a few steps away from the sofa. "You're not. You're fine. Anyone in your position would be... cranky."

Jon cracked a smile. "Yes."

"If you're not hungry, perhaps tea?" Martin asked, wringing the tea towel slightly between his fists.

"No, no, I... sit. Sit with me. Please."

Martin swallowed and he nodded. He perched himself on the edge of the seat, inches away from Jon. He tried not to stare at the belly, but he was so close. If he wanted to, he could have touched it by barely moving his hand from his own thigh, but the boundaries that would cross were innumerable. 

"Oh, uh," Martin said, as if he'd just noticed, "your jumper, it's..."

Jon sighed. "Nothing fits," he said, sounding completely resigned. He didn't even attempt to adjust it, but instead shifted again. "I want this to be over, but I don't... want to know what's in there."

"Maybe it's something cute?" Martin suggested. "Like a weird puppy."

For a second, Jon stared at him, blinking, and then he wheezed a laugh. "Martin, you're -- ahh!"

"Jon? Is it -- is it time?" Martin tried to keep his voice steady, but he could hear the panic. A plan had been mapped out, but in that moment, he'd forgotten every detail.

"No, it's--" Jon swallowed and pulled his jumper up all the way up his stomach, revealing the huge bulge. Uncovered, it appeared even larger, and more unnatural. He grabbed Martin's hand and pressed it directly against his skin. "It's moving. I think it knows we're talking about it."

Martin sucked in a tiny gasp at the contact. Jon's skin was warm and dry, pulled tight, like his skin itself was barely hanging onto the surface, like the jumper had been. However, there wasn't a chance for Martin to actually revel in this intimacy, as he felt something hard slide alongside his palm beneath the surface, like a giant eel.

He yelped, but he couldn't pull his hand away, even if he wanted to. Jon was still gripping his wrist and holding him there. Martin watched as a series of uneven bumps pressed upward at the top of Jon's stomach from within.

"Oh my god," Martin breathed.

As if his words broke something, Jon released him and quickly pulled the jumper back over his stomach. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "That was inappropriate."

"No! It was fine." Emboldened, Martin reached over and rested his hand atop Jon's. Jon looked up at him, surprised. Martin smiled. "If it helps, I want to. Whatever you need. You don't have to do this alone."

"Thank you," Jon said, his voice barely above a whisper. He leaned in, and Martin felt every part of his body tense as Jon's face closed in near his own.

After a few seconds of lingering, Jon brushed his mouth gently over Marin's cheekbone and inhaled slowly. Martin cut off a choked noise from the back of his throat, unable to move, and afraid to do anything, for fear that Jon might stop. God, he didn't want Jon to stop. Finally, Jon tipped his chin up and pressed a soft kiss to Martin's forehead.

"Perhaps," he said softly in Martin's ear, "a cup of tea would be nice."

Martin nodded, unsure he could properly form words. He pulled his hand away reluctantly and got up to retreat to the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder and Jon was staring straight ahead at the wall, his hand gently caressing the belly. 

There something wholly unsettling about it, and ice formed in Martin's stomach as he put the kettle on. That moment wasn't caused by the... thing, was it? There was no telling what it was, or what it could do. What was more unbelievable? That Jon might be interested in him, or that Jon was pregnant with a monster that could also mind control him?

Martin stood up a bit straighter at the counter, settling his shoulders back. There was only one way to find out. He was a researcher, after all. He would have to do the research.


End file.
